


Friends First

by vassalady



Category: Captain America (Comics)
Genre: Bittersweet, Ficlet, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 15:05:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2512016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vassalady/pseuds/vassalady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stevie might be a skinny nobody to everyone else, but he's Arnie's best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends First

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little ficlet, kind of an exercise, a first attempt at trying to portray the childhood friendship between these two. Feeling a little melancholy thinking about it, and how they didn't get to share all of life's milestones with each other and how they might have promised one another to always be there for each other. Written pretty quickly, so please forgive a mistake I may have overlooked here and there.

Stevie was a skinny beanpole. He was half a foot taller than the next tallest kid. He tended to hunch to try to make up the difference, but Arnie said one day that it looked like he was just going to vanish in thin air.

“Not the effect I was trying for,” Stevie said.

Arnie shrugged. “Then stand up, Rogers. You don’t take up enough space as is.”

Stevie frowned at the sketch pad in his lap. It was ridiculous how he sat cross-legged in the small chair. His knees were practically grazing his ears, and his bony elbows stuck out at awkward angles. “I can’t keep on any weight,” he said, sounding just a little petulant.

Arnie laughed, hand pressed to his side. “Keep going upward,” he said, once his laughter had died down, “at least that way, no one can forget you’re there.”

Stevie sank lower in the chair, which only forced his knees and elbows upwards and outwards. “Don’t remind me.”

Arnie resisted rolling his eyes. Stevie would disappear into his books if he could. People didn’t make fun of him as much as they used to, but instead of Stevie opening up more, he just retreated further.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten Stevie to come play ball with them.

“So you really going to start art classes?” Arnie said, changing the subject.

Stevie nodded, concentrating on his drawing again. “Yup. Ma says she can handle it.” He frowned, and Arnie didn’t have to ask what was on his mind. He’d seen Mrs. Rogers hard at work washing more laundry than she could carry.

Arnie rested his chin in his hands. “You’re good, Stevie.” He wasn’t just saying that. “Hey, don’t forget me when you’re famous, okay?”

Stevie smirked at Arnie. “You wish. I’ll drag you to every art gallery opening ever.”

Before Arnie could come up with a reply, there was a knock at the door. They were hiding out in the little kids’ playroom at school, which really only made Stevie’s height all the more ridiculous. It wasn’t exactly the best hiding place, but it worked well enough.

Jim stood in the doorway, looking between Arnie and Stevie. “Hey, Arn, my brother can get those mags for us if you’re still in.”

“Yeah, sure,” Arnie said with a grin. “You want to come, Stevie? We’re getting the dirty ones.”

Stevie shook his head. “Next time.” He nodded to Jim. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Jim replied.

Arnie stood, stuffing his hands awkwardly in his pockets. “Well, I’ll see you later, then, Stevie.”

For once, he was glad Stevie had refused. If it wasn’t Jim, he would have pushed Stevie to join them until Stevie huffed out a sigh and tagged along. But Jim and Arnie weren’t exactly telling the truth about the dirty mags.

Later, Arnie found his position against Jim uncomfortable. There was a growing crick in his neck, but he didn’t want to move from his spot nestled against Jim’s chest.

Just as he was thinking he might shift, Jim asked, “Anything between you and Stevie?”

“He’s my best friend,” Arnie said. “He’s more brother to me than anything else.”

“Hmm.”

Arnie pushed himself off of Jim. “You got a problem with him?”

Jim’s face screwed up. “Not… as such. But everyone thinks he’s kind of queer in the head.”

Arnie stared at Jim, completely at a loss for words.

“You’re not doing yourself favors hanging out with him.”

Arnie stood abruptly. “He’s my friend, Jim. My best friend.” He grabbed his jacket, hung on the mop handle, and pulled it on. “You don’t like him, I don’t like you. Simple as that.”

“Hey, come on, Arnie!”

But Arnie already was out the door.

Stevie didn’t ask why Arnie came storming back into the playroom. At first, Arnie thought Stevie didn’t even notice. However, when he dropped his pencil, and it rolled to Arnie’s feet, Stevie just asked if he could hand it to him.

“Hey, Stevie?” Arnie asked, resting his cheek on his crossed arms.

“Yeah?”

“No matter what, we’ll always be friends, right?”

Stevie rose his eyebrows in question. But when Arnie didn’t explain further, a wide grin spread across his face. “Of course. You won’t be able to get rid of me.”

“Good,” Arnie said.

“You know you’re going to be the one who will have to drag me to attend my own funeral.”

Arnie laughed at that, and Stevie laughed, too.

He was glad to have Stevie as a friend. One day, he would tell him all his secrets, because he was the brother Arnie always wanted.

It would be him and Stevie against the world as long as they lived.


End file.
